


Half-Full Amphora

by misura



Category: Captive Prince - C. S. Pacat
Genre: Drunkenness, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-13
Updated: 2018-05-13
Packaged: 2019-05-06 04:15:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,127
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14633868
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/misura/pseuds/misura
Summary: Laurent decides to prepare for his and Damen's visit to Makedon by getting drunk.





	Half-Full Amphora

_Come and get him within an hour of receiving this message,_ Nikandros had told him by way of a palace servant. _I will not be held responsible for the consequences otherwise._

Damen had been in the middle of a meeting. Still, he knew Nikandros. More: he knew Laurent.

He had made his excuses and now he was here, to deal with the problem, whatever it might be.

It was not what he had expected, although perhaps, it should have been. In a mere six weeks' time, they were scheduled to go and guest with Makedon. There would be hunting. Makedon had written several times these past months, to report on the progress of some of the recently introduced new policies, and to tell them how much he was looking forwards to the visit. To take Laurent hunting the way Akielons hunted.

And, after, to drink griva with him. _A rematch_ Makedon had called it.

"Aren't you supposed to be in a meeting?" Laurent's eyes were very bright. He was frowning, expression a little annoyed.

Wondering if he'd lost track of time without being aware of it, Damen realized. "I left early," he said.

Laurent considered the answer. "Why?"

_Because Nikandros doesn't know what to do with you when you're drunk._ Damen remembered having gone drinking with Nikandros himself, a prince and a future kyros. The difference in their stations had not felt all that great then.

It did not feel all that great now. Nikandros was still his friend first, his kyros second.

"Bored already?" Laurent asked. "Hoping for a war?"

"No." Patras was too smart to pick a fight with a country nearly three times their size. The Vaskian Empire might have been tempted, had they been slower to stabilize the new country, to bring the border patrols back up to full strength. "Are you all right?"

Laurent sighed. "I can't build up a tolerance for alcohol in six weeks. There's not enough time."

"I know." Damen understood why Laurent would want to. Still, "Nobody will think less of you if you get drunk. Least of all Makedon. You've impressed him already - why not let him have this one?"

"You mean, lose on purpose? Pretend to pass out?" Laurent looked thoughtful.

_If my memories of Uncle Helias's griva are correct, you won't need to pretend._ The stuff was legendary. Damen had tried it only once, before deciding there was no shame in picking your battles.

"I'd need to time it just right," Laurent said. "Not too soon. But not so late that my mind's already partially incapacitated."

"You'll be surrounded by friends. Allies. It's not - " _It's not like things were in Vere._ "Not as big a deal as you seem to think it is," Damen finished. "You should try to relax. Have fun."

"I can't have fun when I'm not in control of the situation," Laurent said.

Damen recounted the number of amphora. "Yes, you can."

"Are you trying to decide whether or not it's honorable for you to take me to bed?" Laurent asked. He sounded amused. Fond. "I told you, I'm fine. Go back to your meeting. It's more important."

"I told them we'd continue tomorrow. Maybe you should sit in."

"You rescheduled it early, didn't you." Laurent's tone made it clear it was not a question.

"I didn't know that you were going to do something like this. I - " _I didn't like the way they talked about you. I wanted them to see the way things are between us._

"They think I'm pulling your strings," Laurent said. "That all it took was for me to bat my lashes at you and you were ready to do my every bidding. Remind me again why so many of your kyroi are idiots."

Damen forced himself to smile. "You have very lovely eye lashes. Like a cow's."

"So people keep telling me. If you want to get anywhere with me, you'll have to be more original."

Damen relaxed slightly, glad that they were off the subject of the kyroi. He had replaced the ones who had supported Kastor, of course - but there were rules about that sort of thing. Traditions. A king could not only promote those whom he liked and knew to be loyal.

_Only a weakling surrounds himself with friends._ His father had told him that, once. _To a king, an honorable enemy is as valuable as a good friend._

"We're doing well together, I think," he said. "People like the new laws, the new policies."

"Some people. Not to ruin your happy fantasies, but some people thought my uncle made a very good regent. That he was kind to animals and small children."

Damen shrugged. "Sometimes, people are wrong. We're doing the right thing."

"By your own admission, you may be wrong about that."

"I'm not," Damen said. "You know I'm right. And we both know that if I want to take you to bed, all I need to do is ask."

"Yes. Your eye lashes aren't particularly long, are they? Not to worry, I'm sure that you have other fine qualities. I'm not done drinking yet. If I'm going to have to convincingly pass out, I'll need to know my limit. You can take me to bed after."

Laurent's smirk suggested he knew quite well that wasn't quite what Damen had had in mind.

It also implied that in spite of what he might think himself, Laurent was already more than a little drunk.

"You don't need to actually pass out," Damen said. "You only need a number, a time. You can talk to Nikandros tomorrow. I'm sure he can tell you all you need to know."

Laurent sighed. "You're being rather slow tonight, aren't you?"

Damen closed his eyes and reviewed the conversation. He'd mentioned the meeting tomorrow morning, the lack of any need for Laurent to keep his guard up at all times, as well as the idea that perhaps one might allow another person to think that they were better drinkers than you were, for the sake of peace and harmony. "Laurent. Will you please come to bed?"

"Nikandros should have let you finish the meeting," Laurent said. "I was pacing myself. People usually talk in between drinking. There's singing, too. Jokes. Stories."

Damen tried to picture Laurent, surrounded by Makedon's men, telling a joke. A story.

Being Laurent, he'd be able to pull it off. Laurent had a gift for surprising people, for pulling off the impossible and make it look easy.

"Nikandros meant well." Damen had every intention of thanking him tomorrow. "Can you walk?"

"Not without help. Sorry," Laurent added, as Damen helped him up, "I'll probably fall asleep the moment you put me in bed. I miscalculated."

"It's fine," Damen said. "There'll be other nights."


End file.
